"So you work at Harvard..."

Broadway is a very straight, flat street that well serves its function, shuttling the underpaid workers of Harvard to Harvard itself. However, Cambridge Street (the street just north) probably does a better job with more retail. It also ends in Inman Square which much nicer than the nondescript/miserable neighborhoods of East Cambridge. Broadway might be useful for coming to and from the airport, but usually traffic sucks. However, in some places, it does have a bike lane... so yeah, Broadway, for when you need to get to the cheaper parts of Cambridge.